Hollywood's First Unsolved Case: The Murder of William Desmond Taylor

February 1st 1922 William Desmond Taylor, a silent film star and director, suddenly died at only 49 years old. It would be another 12 hours until police were notified. Rumors circulated that after his death bosses from Paramount and others from the upper echelon of Hollywood were at William’s house when the police arrived. What were they doing? Were they trying to check on their business partner and friend? Were they trying to understand what happened? If you guessed burning papers in the fireplace, you would be correct. Join the table as we dig into the life of William Desmond Taylor, the scandals he was involved in, and ask ourselves who killed William?

Sources:

• https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/murder-in-hollywood-a-tale-of-vice-and-vixens
• https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-06-01-ca-8525-story.html
• https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/oct/24/3
• https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/02/05/98978284.pdf
• https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853336/bio/
• https://historycollection.com/hollywood-studios-used-to-own-their-actors-and-actresses/2/
• Williamology. A Continuing Exploration of the Life and Death of William Desmond Taylor. https://www.public.asu.edu/~bruce/William97.txt
• https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/02/07/98980004.pdf
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mabel-Normand
• https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/02/07/98980004.html